Scrambled Souls
by Ricrod
Summary: Some years ago, the worlds of Gods, Devils and Humans became permanently linked, changing the life of many. For Hikigaya Hachiman, a forgotten meeting from that time comes to shake his normal life in the most unexpected way... with two possible fiances and a whole lot of trouble alongside them. *chapter 4 got deleted, will change a couple of things and then update*
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Standing Between Gods and Devils.**

"It's hard!" My sister was already complaining pretty early in the morning. Of course, as the corporate slaves they were, our parents were nowhere to be seen. Even if it was Sunday. So we have been keeping each other company until now.

"Stop whining" I spoke up finally. "I'll help you out with a part of it later. Okay?"

This little sister of mine had delayed all the workload that wasn't immediate during the whole week. Of course, today is Sunday and she has to finish it all, or at least what she needs to present tomorrow. As per normal, I had nothing to do after classes and club, so I finished all already. It's a good feeling to be able to play vita when not having any leftover assignments.

"Okay, but I'm not holding my breath for anything spectacular," Komachi said as she turned to her notes. Brat.

There was no point to homework or assignments in the first place if you didn't do them yourself, but I wasn't helping Komachi out like this just because she was cute. If that was the only reason, I'd have no choice but to help her out with the rest of it as well.

She sighed. "There are tons of homework, and also the tests come right after this… I won't have time for the mock exams right after vacation!"

"That's because you normally let things pile up."

"Yeah, haven't I been doing a good job piling them up?"

"So piling up unread books is like a stacking game now, huh…"

If this was Tetris, she would already have gotten the Game Over screen by now.

That was Komachi for you, and yet here she was, planning to get into a high-end high school when she couldn't even finish her own homework at time.

"Are you serious about wanting to take the exam for my high school? Just asking."

This should really go without saying, but my sister is a moron, one magnificent and spectacular moron. She was the cutest sister in the world, but her grades were beyond pathetic. In that regard, I think we mirror each other really well.

"I'm serious, I swear. I wouldn't ask for your help if I wasn't, Onii-chan," Komachi answered with total straight face. What an angel she is. Totally the best sister in the world. "People will know that we are siblings, and they will think better of me when comparing us. My reputation will rise up immediately!" I take back what I said. This one is a demon. I will just concentrate in my games.

"Ah, onii-chan" I perked up again upon hearing my little sister speak "Since I'm totes doing my homework now, please go and buy the groceries for me"

Oi, are you serious? I already agreed to help you out with it. You should have done it before anyway.

"Ah, and it has to be from these stores, you know?" She handed me out a piece of paper with some directions on it "There are some discounts there"

"…Alright" Whatever. I don't want to be home right now anyway.

 **[…]**

Discount sales are the bane of all loners. They force you to go to places far from home just to save some yens. Well, it's not like we have money to waste away, but we should have enough to justify buying in the nearest convenience store, damn. I hope they have MAX COFFEE at least.

Of course, this just started because of my own weakness towards my little sister. But, that's exactly what means to be an older brother.

Come to think about it, these stores feel strangely familiar, sure they aren't that far from home, but I don't remember being around here before. Normally, I would end up buying in stores nearer rather than those with better prices.

I pause for a moment trying to remember the origin of that déjà vu feeling. It made me uncomfortable. But I get cut off from it.

"Hey there, young man. Out for picking up girls?"

An older man with clean-cut looks calls outs to me. Normally I would just ignore him, since he is probably some seller or scammer and I never get called out, but this one appeared right in front of me. Also, another feature from him took my notice: his long ears.

He's a Devil.

While Gods had a particularly positive 'aura' around them, Devils gave a mysterious feeling to those around them. Incidentally I was always surrounded in negative vibes. That totally meant that I must a newtype. Right?

"…Just shopping." My voice is filled with suspiciousness. I don't know who this man is, nor what he wants, but I'm not as naïve to believe he's just trying to make friends.

"I see. Diligent, aren't we?"

"…Huh" I only shrug at that response. This is getting weird. Incidentally, I was only bringing some cash and even left my phone at home. So I wasn't as concerned about being robbed as from being hit.

"So… you aren't interested in playing with some girls in the weekend?"

Ah, so this was it. Sorry, old Devil, but I'm not interested in anything of that nature. Not like that in any case.

"No. I'm not interested in playing with the heart of anyone" This time I can fill my words with seriousness. Seems to be enough to shut him up.

"…I see, so you are pretty serious huh" Contrary to my expectation, the Devil just looks happy at my response. I'm a little taken back.

"…"

"Well then, I won't take more of your time"

"…Sure"

"Good bye, for now" He just says that and disappears in the crow of people. What a weirdo. And nothing of 'for now' please.

 **[…]**

It didn't take much to find the store and the ingredients Komachi send me for. Just lacking meat now. The previous encounter with that Devil left me a little tense, but some meat and MAX COFFEE will probably raise again my spirits.

Yet, another obstacle appears in my path. Some girl is taking her sweet time at the meat section of the supermarket. Probably taking her time to decide between some cuts. Please woman, get over it. There's a loner here that wants to get home as early as possible.

"Mhh… This one is cheaper when I calculate the cost per gram, but this other is cheaper as a whole…" I wait patiently, but she doesn't seem ready to take a decision. Really, this kind of people were the bane of loners. Actually, shopping in general must be the bane of all loners.

Suddenly, she turns in my direction and we make eye contact. For some reason she seems frozen for a moment and an awkward silence falls while she stares at me. A beautiful girl. My breath is taken away and I can do nothing but stare at her dumbfound. It takes me some seconds to regain my composure. At that moment I see her ears.

A God.

With ears longer than humans but smaller than Devil's. She does give a bright aura. Well, whatever, I can use this to ask her to move. You are far too slow!

"…Uhm" Damned mouth of mine, react!

"Hey, Hachiman, which one do you think I should buy?" She waves a big pack of meat in one hand and two others in the opposite one.

Huh? Is she talking to me? Wait, that was my name isn't it? How much time since someone called me by name? Wait, better not thing about it. I will only depress myself.

"…I would go with the two packs"

"Yeah, father does eat a lot. I was a little worried"

"…W-what?"

"Thank you very much. I don't have much time left, but I will see you soon, Hachiman" She just says that and disappears between the lot of buyers in the supermarket.

 **[…]**

…I decide to get back home and forget about this day as soon as possible.

Then it came to me. I used to live around this area when I was smaller. Komachi probably doesn't remember it, since she was but a toddler. But I went to an elementary school near here.

Thinking in my encounter with thick crows of people and that Devil, I opted for taking a detour around. There was no place for a loner in the middle of those people. I mean that being entrapped by swarms of people is even more isolating than being alone.

Basically, loners aren't just determined by the population density of their surroundings. There is a thing called the individual spirit as well. No matter how physically close you are to another person, you cannot be satiated if you cannot acknowledge your similarities.

That's why, even if I have to walk around this district full of repressed memories, is better than being pushed and compressed by a mass of sweaty people. See, these streets are pretty lonely. So it's alright in my book.

Still, the plastic bags in my hands are getting pretty heavy. I wonder why. Probably because I have been carrying them for a while now.

Thankfully for my exhausted body, my finely honed senses alert me of a park around the corner. Really, it seems there's some hope for me still. It's not even a complete park, just a small space between the houses with just a swing and a sandbox. Perfect for relaxing a little while.

While I got close to it, a melody entered my ears. As pure as a glass sculpture, a voice that was beautiful and smooth.

Soon, I saw the origin of the music. Sitting in the old swing of the small park. With long, silky, blue hair. A girl as beautiful as her voice. Giving the impression of being frozen in time, a moment that lasts an eternity. It was like a scene that creates a magnum opus painting.

For a brief moment there, both my mind and my body froze and I was captivated by it.

It takes a moment for me to notice that she's another Devil.

"Oh…" She suddenly stops singing and stares at me with an embarrassed look.

"Uh…Err, Sorry for interrupting."

"No… I was a little surprised, but please don't mind" No, even if you say that. It's only going to make more conscious of this.

"Erh, I was just passing by…" I try to say as I raise the plastic bags in my hands.

"I see… I need to get going too" She smiled at me and started moving from the old swing. "I'm looking forward to see you again, Hachiman-sama"

By the way, when I came home, Komachi lectured me about taking my time and made me help her with the rest of her assignments.

 **[…]**

Monday. In Spanish is called Lunes. In French, you'd call it Lundi. It sounds weirdly perverted, even so I wouldn't exactly call it a happy day of the week, more like it just makes you sigh and think, "Not another week of school…" I wanted to take a day off from school about as much as I wanted to take a day off from life itself, but it wasn't like there was anyone who would write notes for me or bring me the class handouts. That inevitably makes your attendance rate go up.

The drowsy feeling from the day is only multiplied by the season. Yeah. If march comes like a lion, then july comes like a poisonous snake. This is the season of exams; in some weeks the most awaited vacations of the year will start. But before that, the tired students will have to wrestle with the tests and examinations of school. The days pass slower as the anxiety from tests, grades and vacation became more and more known. You just can't catch a break.

As I keep thinking of inconsequential things, the bell finally tolls, announcing the end of another day of lessons.

"Hikigaya. Come here for a moment" Uh? Hiratsuka-sensei calling for me isn't that much rare, but is usually when I'm late for class, or distracted during her lesson or after I present a well done essay that no one can understand fully. Man, I didn't do any of those things today.

"Uhh… Sensei, what did you need me for?" I haven't done anything, alright? Maybe I got a little bit distracted, but it was until near the end of the day, you can't fault me for that!

"Well it's not a big deal, but…" Huh she seems a little bit unsure, this doesn't sound very good to me. Every time someone says something like 'it's not a big deal', 'it won't hurt you' or 'I will call you'; it always ends up as the contrary. The last one is especially true for when interacting with girls. Source: ahh… totally not me.

"Have you encountered a girl from a different strain when you were little?" What do you mean like that? As if I ever made a promise about going to toudai to get with the girl and live a happily ever after? Sorry, but I can't remember a single promise with a girl. Actually, I can't remember a girl that didn't bully me during in those times.

"You mean like a God or a Devil?" Gods and Devils. Beings from myths and religion that actually existed in their own, separate worlds. Ten years ago a catastrophe surged and various gates connecting the worlds appeared around the place. Just the intro song in animes, this event was dubbed as "The Opening".

"Yeah" Sensei had a solemn expression. More or less the same one corporate slave has when is assigned more workload but denied a raise in his paycheck.

"Well, I can't say that I remember doing so. But then again, I don't remember much of that time" I mean, I can remember the insults other kids had for me and living in another part of the city. But more specific memories escape my grasp... Probably for the better.

"I see…" I thought of the weird encounters from yesterday, but those did happen just then, so they can't be counted as memories from my childhood. Even if we mature a little day by day, or better said, we just become older.

Some people say that time changes, but I disagree. It's not time what changes a person, but the experiences that one endures during that period. Just like a high-school reunion where some who used to be losers managed to change into success while others feel asleep in their previous accomplishments and became useless NEETs. Well, most of the time, losers kept on being losers while riajuus just kept on ascending in life. On that note, I was a winner craving my own path as a loner and would keep on winning by becoming a house-husband in the future.

"Is there some problem?" I actually don't care much. But if I was called then it has something to do with me. Probably. Actually, I hope it isn't the case, there's already enough in my plate with the club and the upcoming exams.

"Like I said, it's not a big deal… I hope"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Explain yourself woman, you were the one who called me. Why are you hiding information now?

"That's all I can say for now… However," She makes a determinate face and puts her hand in my shoulder "this..., isn't what I had in mind. But as a teacher, I will support you as much as I can!"

Scary! What the hell happened!?

"That's why, Hikigaya, please do your best" After saying that line straight up copied from some manga published in the JUMP, sensei goes out of the classroom with a dignified look.

Of course, while confused, I do the same.

 **[…]**

It might be a little too late to describe what the 'Service Club' actually did, but we were supposed to listen to the problems of students and then try to help them out. If I didn't remind myself every now and then, I really would forget what this club was for. Most of the time, Yukinoshita and I just sat and read books. While Yuigahama just played around with her phone. It wasn't a place I would choose to go by my own will, but it was nice and quiet most of the time, so I didn't mind it much.

Sadly, today was a little different.

"Hey, Yukinon, have you heard?" Yuigahama had found something worth making a fuss about. It happened sometimes. Most of which were simple fashion statements, notices about new shops or some outing to invite Yukinoshita over. None of those ever interested me. That's probably why they never include much in those conversations.

"What is it, Yuigahama-san?" Yukinoshita responded with a sigh. She seemed to have grown accustomed to Yugahama's habit of ignoring the personal space of people. That's one high level skill right there.

"I heard that we're getting some transfer students!" Yurigahama chirped happily. As expected of a social butterfly, the opportunity to make more friends wasn't lost to her.

"How odd. People normally would wait until after the vacations to transfer" Transferring at this point of the year only meant to have to deal with the exams along the other students. Needless to say, Sobu is actually a pretty high-end school. It was one of the few 'multiracial schools' in the region and gave classes for Alchemy.

Actually, I wonder how did Yuigahama managed to enter. I had to wreck my brain to pass the entrance test.

"It does seem quite unusual"

"No, but I mean. I heard that they are from different straits" Strangely enough, Gods and Devils didn't seem to have much of private cliques to share over. They mostly got along with humans with similar interests. So it wasn't that rare to find them in varied groups. Still, that didn't mean all humans were welcoming of them. Even in a place like this.

"That does explain it a little more, indeed"

Because of the nature of the school, they were always receiving students that were either Gods or Devils. They also had a little more leeway in some things. Man, how lucky.

"Sorry to say this Yuigahama-san, but Hikigaya-kun will probably drive them away with his eyes"

She says something incredibly cold with a gentle expression. As expected, her talent for verbal abuse is high.

"Hey, wait. Are my eyes cursed or something?" that isn't the case, it isn't the case at all! Probably.

"Of course not, Hikicursed-kun. I was just saying that normal humans can't tolerate them" hey, aren't you being a little too cruel? It isn't like I choose my genes or something.

"Didn't you just heard from Yuigahama? The transfers are either Gods or Devils" I try raising my defense.

"Are you saying you can get along with them more than with fellow humans?" Yukinoshita gives me a look full of pity "Or is just wishful thinking?"

"Well…" No, no matter the race, I couldn't get along with people. I was a loner after all.

After keeping it like that for a while. The club finishes another day of not doing nothing noteworthy.

 **[…]**

Another day, another penny. Except that I didn't work, so there wasn't much to gain just from waking up and going to classes. Sure, you can learn a lot from the Alchemy lessons, but most subjects are things you won't touch in your career or daily life, ever.

The humid air lingered inside the school building. The discomfort was further exacerbated by the crowd that had gathered around the entrance in the morning rush to school.

The word loner makes you think of someone hiding in a dark corner, but when you reached my level of loner, you'd rather wear your loner qualities on your sleeve. And so, as I stood alone at school, my surroundings formed an air pocket like the eye of a hurricane.

As I was changing into my indoor shoes at the entrance, I looked up and encountered a familiar face.

"Oh, hey Hikki!" I know it's a nickname harmless enough to make my middle school self go cry with joy. But once you think about it, isn't a little offensive too? I come to school, so it's not like I'm a NEET or anything.

"…Yo" My answer is swift and perfect. Seriously, my social skills have been raising up lately, at this pace it won't be long before I can man up and ask out Totsuka. Wait, Totsuka is a boy. Damn.

"What's with that?" She doesn't seem to like my greeting. How naïve, to think she would dismiss the shortest, and thus greatest, casual greeting our language allows "Anyway, today are coming the transfer students. I heard they are going to be in our class"

"Huh, that's a little weird" Needless to say, our school had put some consideration to having Gods and Devils around, so the ratio was more or less kept the same in all classrooms. Even if we were to get one of the transfers, it should have been only one at most.

"Yeah, but isn't it better? Oh! I need to go now, see ya!" Yuigahama just says that and dashes inside the building, probably to go meet with her clique. Seriously girl, running in the hallways is prohibited.

I do take my time at it. There's still time before the lessons start. I don't want Nadeshiko-sensei to catch me and make me run around the field. She has yet to see me doing anything wrong thanks to my loner skills, but I have seen some poor fools who were punished.

As those thoughts went through my mind, a silly commotion was unfolding around the hall, as if saying, "This is youth!". A large commotion was attracting lots of guys near the Teacher's lounge.

Well that was the thing with high school students, they just searched for any kind of excuse to slack off and forget about the greyness of being trapped in this place. I can't say that I blame them. If it weren't for the Alchemy lessons, I would be in home studying to become a house husband.

 **[…]**

Contrary to my expectations, there was almost no one in the classroom when I entered, just about fourteen or so were around, mostly girls. It was not like I was particularly early, but is something nice. Having less people was always something welcomed. So I just went quietly to my seat and opened a book to pass time until the teacher arrives.

Casually looking up, I noticed Hayama and his friends, a mixed-gender group which consisted of five people. They were bunched up together and sitting in a circle, yabbering away.

Tobe (the easily excited one) promptly broke out into a ruckus about something. "Oh crap, the new students are coming to our class, man! Damn. What am I gonna do? Should we invite them somewhere?"

"I'll leave it to you." As Miura played with her cell phone in her right hand with palpable disinterest, she yanked on Tobe's drill-shaped hair with her left hand. Ebina-san and Yuigahama trailed behind her. The queen was ruling with her iron fist as usual.

Tobe was suddenly fired up upon being manhandled by Miura. "Oh! So is karaoke or something no good? I totally want to show my good side" Talk about riajuus, the students aren't even in class yet and they are already planning in making friends.

In that moment, Miura closed her cell phone with a snap. "Hm? Nah."

…she wasn't leaving it to him at all!

Without thinking, I did a mental tsukkomi to their conversation. Every day, I was honing my loner tsukkomi skills.

Inadvertently, my eyes went over to Miura and the others. When I did that, my eyes met with Yuigahama, who was among them.

She waved her hand, prompting me to nod my head and then avert my eyes. Damn woman. I don't want any attention from here.

The one who broke that peculiar atmosphere was Miura.

"I think we should invite them for bowling." Without any logical reason for it, Ebina nodded at the proposal Miura came up with. "I get it! The pins definitely look like pe-"

"Ebina, shut the hell up. Wipe your nosebleed," a disgusted Miura said as she handed Ebina a tissue. "Cover it up or something."

Giving out a tissue was a surprisingly kind gesture on Miura's part, but no matter how you looked at it, it was one of those tissues people gave out on the street advertising a dating service, so it was kind of a delicate situation.

But Hayama stroked his chin somewhat thoughtfully, as if he did not think the same way. "But we don't know what they prefer… Let's try deciding after asking them"

Miura changed her tune in a flash. "If you say so, Hayato," she sang. How two-faced can you get woman?

As if to interrupt any further nonsense, a crow of students from the class finally arrives. Just a couple of minutes before the bell tolls. You guys got a really neat sense of time. Hiratsuka-sensei also arrives, just on time.

"Alright people, calm yourselves" As usual, her voice is more along the lines of a teacher and less of a single middle aged- Huh Did she just glare at me?! Can she read minds?! When she became a newtype?

"Today we are getting two new students. Be nice to them" Just after she says that, the door opens and two… two middle aged men in casual clothes enter the classroom. As expected, the class erupts in murmurs.

"Haha. These youngsters seem healthy"

"Indeed, they must be so at their age"

They just keep talking between them. Not only me, but the rest of the students here a stunned to silence. It takes me a moment to recognize one of those as the Devil I meet last week.

"So, where's the boy?"

"Let me see… oh, there he is."

They point towards my direction. For a moment I think that they are looking for someone around my seat. But why their eyes are locked in mine?

"Oh, that boy then? He looks alright enough."

"Hi there Hachiman-chan. I'm sorry for the other day, but I think I got to know your character a little better." I recognize the Devil, the same from a couple of days ago.

"You seem like an earnest fellow. A man's needs to be sincere to love one woman with all his heart. It's very important" The Devil forcefully grabs me and shakes my hand, this one packs way more strength than his appearance would suggest.

"Please be good to Nerine." He just flashes a strange smile at me. If one had to describe it, then it would be bittersweet, like someone watching the end of Precure, sad because it ended, and happy for the protagonists there. It was the first time such emotion was conveyed to me.

For a moment there, I could have been fooled into believing it.

"Hey, don't go stealing the show Maou. Besides I think you're wrong. What a man need is strength. You need to be able to protect the lady anytime" The other man, a God judging by the ears, also gets uncomfortably close to me.

"You seem fit enough for a human, so there must be some potential in you. Be good to Sia, alright?"

Before the God can do or say anything else, he…he gets smacked by a girl, with a folded chair.

"Geez, father. I told you to not do this."

"That's right dad. You're bothering Hachiman-sama."

"I am sorry Nerine, but it was that he insisted about this." The devil uses the classic move of 'shift the blame', commonly used by politicians.

"What? You were the one who said-" The god tries to retord.

""You're both at fault!"" Both girls scream at the same time, perfectly coordinated. Did they practiced that or was just a common thing?

After that strange comedy skit, the girls just straighten themselves and try to introduce themselves to the confused class.

"My name is Lisianthus. Please call me Sia if you want" Just like with the old Devil, it was the second time I saw this God, the weird girl from the grocery shop.

"I'm Nerine. I hope we can get along" This one was also known to me… or at least it wasn't the first time I saw her. She was the singing Devil from Sunday.

"My name is Eustome, Sia's father. Also the King of Gods, for your information."

"I'm Forbesii, Nerine's father, AKA, Maou of the Devils. Nice to meet you all."

No, you don't need to introduce yourselves. Actually, please repeat that. You guys said 'king' and 'Maou'?

"Alright. Stop it. Whatever you guys have to say, it can wait until after classes" Hiratsuka-sensei looks like a responsible adult for the first time ever and chases the psychotic men out of the room.

Still, What the hell was up with this atmosphere!?… The situation was insanely uncomfortable, so it was really hard to stay in the classroom. An urge to just disappear completely from here is rising up. All of my classmates are looking at me and murmuring. Things like 'Who's he?', 'what's up with this?', 'they have some bad taste in men', 'Was he in the class?'. I'm pretty sure someone compared me unfavorably with Hayama there, but I did my best to repress such comment.

Please, I beg you to stop this. I haven't done anything to you, have I?

 **[…]**

The bell finally announces the end of lessons and start of the lunch break. The transfer students were surrounded by the curious students. They were completely the center of attention. Even Hayama, the most popular guy around, was prying around. Yuigahama also seemed unsure if go to the girls or if come here and demand answers from my tired mind.

I decided to leave this place amidst the commotion. Hikigaya Hachiman withdraws coolly. I was too cool for school, if you want to know how cool I was, enough to become a Gang-Star. How? Don't bother asking me, it just works.

There's no point in dealing with this kind of craze without my MAX COFFEE. Actually, there's no point in dealing with this craze at all.

I went to eat lunch in my usual spot. My home base was on the first floor of the special building, to the side of the nurse's office and diagonally behind the cafeteria. To give you a better idea, it was a position from which I could see right out into the tennis courts.

"Wait! Hachiman-sama" Midway to my small paradise, actually just in the hall outside the classroom, a voice calls out to me. Man, it's weird to listen someone saying my name after so long. Normally people just say 'hey' or 'you' when referring to me.

"…Can I help you?" I turned by reflex to see who was.

"Ah, if you're going for lunch, do you mind if we tag along?" Nerine and Lisianthus, the new students, are there. Actually, shouldn't you girls be in class? I'm pretty sure you were surrounded by curious teens just a minute ago.

"Well..."

"Indeed, eat at adequate hours is important."

"Yeah, one can't skip meals."

I almost jump from hearing those voices from my back. Scary! You guys just appeared behind me! How?

"…Why are you still here?" Sensei should have drove you away already, and even if she didn't, I want you to scram from my sight.

"Well, we were curious about the school grounds." The apparent king of all gods answers with a selfish reason and a satisfied smile, like he was doing something praiseworthy.

"Exactly, there's the matter of security to take care of." Of course, the supposed king of all devils backs him up with a better thought reason. A headache begins to form in my skull, I know that humans, devils and gods are in "good terms" now, but seeing the heads of two races so (supposedly) different, acting like best buds does leave me confused.

"…Good for you. I will go now." Seriously, these people don't seem to understand how valuable alone time is for a loner like me.

"Ah! Hachiman, about lunch…" The God, Lisianthus interrupts me this time.

"…Why?" Not saying it to praise myself. But I don't believe this 'beautiful transfer student interested in you' That kind of crap is best left for wish-fulfilling animes. I'm probably repeating myself, but the whole thing does reek of scram.

"Let me explain that to you" The old Devil responds, unexpectedly.

"You were selected to be the candidate for Nerine-chan or Sia-chan's future husband, with all that entails"

"To put it plainly, you can choose to become king of the gods, or king of the demons. If you pick my Sia, you can use the power of the gods as much as you want!" The God intervenes.

"But choose Nerine, and all the power of the demons will be yours to use however your heart desires."

My mouth refuses to react. Looking at the girls in question, they just are smiling at me with a blush on their faces.

"You look confused, but I don't blame you for not remembering"

What do you mean by 'remember' Maou? My memory is so good that I remembered the name of a girl I'd never spoken to once. When I called out to her, her face contorted with fear. "How does this guy know my name…? I'm scared…" But that's enough of that story.

"You guys meet before in your childhood, they fell in love with you and the feeling never disappeared of their hearts… Talking about that, Nerine's breasts are pretty big, I'll have you know"

"Hey Maou! Don't say that! Sia's breasts may not be big, but she's still growi-" The God gets hit by his daughter again. With a chair... again.

"Father! Stop embarrassing me!" Uh. This one seems dangerous. Actually, did she just summon the chair from thin air? Are you the natural enemy of Tohno Shiki or something?

"Wait a moment! What do you mean by marriage!?" You see, if I were a girl, I wouldn't have the least bit of interest in a loner like me. Look, that's my talent as a ninja, okay. You can't help it when your existence is shrouded in shadows. Man, what a great ninja I am. Believe it… Except, I don't believe it.

"Actually, scratch that. How can you say that you love me? You don't know anything about me." This was getting too complicated to be a prank. But it's too… good? To be true.

Real life was never simple; it wasn't like a light novel in which thing would end up good and well for the protagonist just for grace of being himself. This world wasn't as bright as to gift that destiny upon me.

"Whatever happened in the past is in the past." I was not the same. I don't know what they are thinking, but whatever image they have of me is but a shadow.

"That's very true. Hachiman-sama probably has changed since then. We have too" Nerine seemed to have enough sense to see through the craziness of this.

"But that's why we are here. We believe that Hachiman is still the kind-hearted boy we fell in love with" Lisianthus-san also starts talking.

"So please, we are here to know more about you and let you know more about us"

"There you have it, Hachiman-chan" The Dev-, Maou. Puts his hand in my shoulder.

"Please do your best!" Eustoma hits my back as if trying to encourage me.

…This can't be happening.

 **A/N: This is set between Yui's birthday and the summer camp. Next chapters will have more comedy; I want this to be more light-hearted in general.**

 **Mhh? What about my other stories? They will be updated in time, I have been dealing with a lot IRL. Still, if you are interested on the next release or just want to bounce ideas, then feel free to PM me. I enjoy talking to people around here.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Mind Has No Say In The Affairs Of The Heart.**

Relationships between people are always bothersome.

It can be certainly strange for a prime loner like me to say it, but I don't believe connecting with someone else is an impossible act as for itself.

In theory, people just need the barest of common, honest interests to form a true connection with others. However, is because they just need something that small, that connections are broken with the same ease. It became easy to be hurt by others when you bared your heart to someone else.

That's why people lied, pretended to like the same things as the rest and went with the flow. To protect their true selves while still enjoying those "connections" with another.

Just as an example. Those two transfer students had stated how they knew about me, that they connected with my past self and wanted to 'reconnect' with the one they remember. But I wasn't who they thought I was. And certainly, I really didn't know anything about them… nor about others.

Even at the Service Club, with those two I had started to pass lot of time with. I didn't know anything about them.

I didn't know about Yukinoshita Yukino and I didn't know of Yuigahama Yui.

Of course, there were some things I was aware of. I knew them on the surface; I knew their names, their faces, how good Yukinoshita's grades were and how bad Yuigahama's scored in tests, how the first didn't get close to people while the other was a social butterfly, how one liked cats and Pan-san, had a pretty foul mouth and didn't lie, while how the other one was a terrible cook, a genuinely nice girl and always went with the flow.

But that's all I knew.

There was nothing about their families, their deeper fears or aspirations. Not a thing about their past or reasons. I did not know about their feelings or family relationships. The same could be said about me for them.

Knowing that much was by no means knowing someone. In the same way people didn't understand me, I didn't understand them either. That's something people tend to forget.

Exactly what was necessary so you could claim you "knew" someone?

"You can be a lot of trouble; you know that?" Hiratsuka-sensei just sighs another empty complain while smoking a cigarette. Brutally taking me away from my own thoughts. As expected of a teacher like her, she doesn't show a single hint of worry about smoking in front of a minor. Oi, I will have you know that I could report you, alright?

"Nah, you don't have the guts to report me, and it wouldn't pass anyway"

What!? Did she just read my mind again? Are you using magic or ESP? I thought you were a normal human. Did you go to Academic City or something?

"It's written all over your face." She puffs another smoke while looking contemplative. "I wasn't expecting a situation like this from you." She says with an annoying sigh.

"…It's not like any of this is my fault to begin with. If anything, I'm just a victim." It wasn't a lie, as far as I knew, these people just showed up today and began saying all kinds of selfish things.

"Don't complain, Hikigaya, it's not that bad."

"...Is that all?" Sorry to say, sensei. But even if you made me a great favor by taking me

from the claws of those psychotic Gods and Devils, you are still doing the same as them. Stealing away my lunch time for no reason. Seriously, I'm hungry here.

"Well, since you guys know each other, I was thinking in making you show them around tomorrow."

"Sadly, I shall decline. I do not know those people." Why tomorrow anyway? They are here today. Damn, even their parents are around too.

"Well, apparently, they still have some things to clear up today." Ah, I understand now. Moving out was never a simple affair, I only moved once, but there are still memories of my parents being completely wrecked about a lot of forgotten details around. Come to think about it, they came for me pretty late that day. Wait! I'm not some kind of extra detail for them, am I?!

"…I don't see how that affects me."

"C'mon Hikigaya, aren't you guys childhood friends? Oh, and don't worry, you will guide them with the rest of the Service Club" Sensei wore an expression that seemed to be asking for praise or thanks for her unhelpful consideration.

Tough luck. I don't think I will enjoy going around school with those two. The transfer students don't help things either.

"I don't remember that being a thing and such help is unnecessary."

While I was expecting some anger from my still-unmarried teacher, she just stared at me while harboring a complicated expression, her cigarette ran out and I became increasingly aware of how much time had passed since the start of the lunch period.

"Relationships can be born from all kinds of encounters; you know?" Finally, Hiratsuka-sensei resumed talking.

"A shared hobby, one coincident past, a common incident or even a mutual friend" She made a small, I guess dramatic pause for a moment before continuing.

"It's not about how they start, but about how those relationships develop."

There was a retort that died midway in my throat. It wasn't because I had a sudden change of heart about my ways, but because how serious my teacher was looking at the moment. If just for a second there, she did look the part of a true mentor. When she smiled at me so calmly and gently, I lost all capacity to resist.

"Well, I guess you have some things to think about, so don't worry about the service club today." Just like that, she came back to her usual behavior and pose. The differences were more than a little jarring.

"Really… this isn't what I had in mind, but I guess one of two isn't so bad." She murmured something to herself, while the bell rang, announcing the end of the lunch period.

During the trip back to the class, I tried to keep my mind away from the words of sensei. It wasn't a difficult task, since my stomach kept on reminding me that I didn't ate anything at all for lunch.

 **[]**

Believe it or not. The rest of the day was as normal as they came.

The classes of the afternoon went as if nothing had happened. Well, there was still some incessant rumor around the classroom and a couple of teachers were obviously on edge. Nothing very important.

Not having to worry about the club, I just left as quickly as I could the moment the final bell rang. Surely, there were some people that looked like they wanted to have a word with me. It was such a strange event, for a moment I almost considered to stay around. Almost is the keyword here.

And so, right now I was wrecking my tired head trying to study for the incoming exams. Normally, I would simply buy some reference books and review them in some quiet place, like one deserted corner in saize. However, the whole mess today at school left me feeling like being at home for once.

Not like I'm scared of encountering those people if I stay outside or anything.

While thinking that, some part of myself still gave a decent fight to overcome drowsiness and remain concentrated in my studies. So I chugged down some chilled MAX Coffee. The particular sweetness of condensed milk coiled around my throat and went straight to my head. That part of it could not be imitated by a café au lait. I also recommend putting shaved ice in it.

Even a mature person with mature tastes is partial to sweet things from time to time. The only coffee is MAX Coffee.

It was the perfect drink for students in the middle of tests after all. I was sure the company could use some test-taking teenagers and win a good advertisement from it.

The strange sound of our house's bell ringing echoed across the place. I just spot for a moment before going back to my business, thinking that it must have been some mistake or the loud bell of our new neighbors. But it does ring again.

"Where you waiting for someone?" My question is directed towards my cute little sister, whom is still lazing around the couch while watching TV instead of studying. For a moment, the image of certain bug appears on my mind, and my drowsiness is replaced by bloodlust.

"Uh-uh. What about you, onii-chan?" She cutely retorts.

"As if that could happen"

It's extremely rare for someone to come to our house.

We were a prominent modern day family; both our parents worked and didn't socialize very often with our neighbors. In the event we did meet with them, we'd at most exchange greetings and the only things we really knew about each other were our names.

Thanks to that, I had no idea how to receive our visitors. There's not much I could do about being called an uncivil fool. I might just even throw ashes at the mortuary tablet of my dad's funeral. Oh wow, it's like I'm some kind of famous figure. Just a worthless thought, but the guys who could proudly claim, "But hey, even Edison wasn't very good at studying either!" were not only bad at studying but everything else as well. The more you know.

"Well, it's probably some door-to-door salesman. Let me take care of it."

I just need to tell him to back off and end it there. Incidentally, I still remember how my parents reacted to those the few times they're home. It was scary enough to make me immune towards horror movies.

However, it seems things never go my way.

"Hello there Hachiman-chan. Nice evening we're having" You're not a salesman! You are the king of devils! What a scam!

"Hahahaha! Hi there!" Loud, why are you acting like an overly-exited teen, king of gods?

"Hachiman! I wanted to see you!" The god girl immediately latched onto me. H-hey, stop hugging me. It's annoying and we have only meet today, this is going way too fast! At least buy me dinner or something.

"Hello, ex-excuse us for intruding." At least the Devil girl… Nerine? Yeah, Nerine had enough decency of looking embarrassed about the whole thing. What a good girl, I guess.

Jokes aside, this wasn't good. How in the world did these guys got my address?

…Uh, leaders of their respective worlds with magic, money and connections. Yeah. Stupid question.

 **[]**

"Onii-chan! Why didn't you tell me you had fiancées?! Princesses to boot!"

"…" Moronic sister of mine. Why are you fixated about that? Four strangers just entered in our house and told you some unbelievable story. Why are you so trusting of them?!

Upon entering our home, they all had curiously looked around. C'mon, you really don't need to touch that wooden bear or stare so hard at the few photos around.

Another person's home was not only mysterious, but an outer zone. I'm sure there's some kind of culture shock when you entered a different cultural sphere. Especially when it came to the house of someone from a different strait. The girls looked at the most ordinary of things like the stairs, windows, and walls. Every time, they'd go "ohh" or "woooow" which kind of got on my nerves…

After entering into the living room they just greeted my sister and gave her a rundown while presented themselves. Needless to say, I was less than pleased with my sister believing when some newcomers said 'We're the king of Devils/Gods, and your brother shall be engaged to one of our daughters.'

Sure, it was the truth (apparently), but still.

"Let's have a toast for our new family member!" Strangely enough, I was starting to get a hint about these psycho's personalities. For example, this obnoxious King of Gods who so rudely started shouting is even louder and 'friendly' than the headband idiot from Hayama's circle.

"Indeed. We have to take 3 shoots, Shin-chan. I think that's the proper way in the world of humans." The king of devils is far more refined and proper, at least at first glance, it doesn't take much to see that he is every bit as crazy as the other ruler.

"Father, I think you may be wrong with that…" Nerine, like her father, had some kind of regal aura around her, reminiscent of Yukinoshita's own, however this girl was way more polite, nice and somewhat shy.

"Uh, what are we supposed to say?" Lisianthus-san reminded me a little of Yuigahama. In the sense that she was overly nice and cheery. So far, I had only see her either happy or mildly confused… well, bashful too, but I don't want to think about that.

"I think we're supposed to say 'cheers'"

If anything, I was somewhat surprised they had come so prepared for this, there was homemade-looking food and drinks. Really, did you guys came here just to party? This is not a university.

Scratch that. Are this really homemade soba noodles? Did the Maou really make them himself? Can I get a course on househusband skills? Err… I mean, don't you have people to do that for you?

"Yeah yeah! Cheers for my new onee-chans" Et tu Komachi?

"Cheers!" The five of them echoed loudly That ain't going to help my headache.

Actually, you people have been using my name without reservations for a while now. I get that you are way above the social (and economic) ladder than me, but isn't it a little too casual? Since you are in japan you should at least try to stick to the rules here!

Not like I'm going to say that. I'm aware of how powerful Gods and Devils are in general, not to mention how strong the respective leaders must be.

"Hey," I finally decide to put an end to their intruding. "Why are you guys here? In case you didn't notice, tests are around the corner and my parents should be here in a couple of hours." Not like their presence changes much, but they should be the ones taking charge here.

"Oh! That's right." Yes, Nerine-san, please do take note of it and take these three out of my place.

"We forgot to greet your parents." No, Lisianthus-san, you forgot about the exams, those are the important things here. Even if you guys are confident in passing them, I still need to study.

"Oh right onii-chan!" I turn towards my sister.

"Mom called before to say that she and dad wouldn't come today."

Well, that wasn't very surprising or strange on itself, the weird thing was she calling

"Didn't say anything else?"

"Mhhhh, yeah. She said she mentioned she wanted to talk to you later."

Dear mother of mine, why would you leave that message with your daughter instead of just calling me? And dear sister of mine, why would you choose to not tell me that until now?

"Tee-hee, I forgot to tell you" It appears that she sensed my question and excused herself with a cute gesture. Tsk, I will have to let her off the hook now.

"Well, to answer your question, Hachiman-chan" Uh, don't call me that, Maou. At least you are answering my question. "you could say that is a diplomatic business."

"But is more along the lines of a family trip."

Way to ruin it, Shinoh, but family trip, huh…? Those words felt awfully nostalgic somehow.  
I thought it wasn't a topic you talk about all that often once you became a high school student, but then again, I didn't have anyone to talk to about it, indeed.

"Your families seem pretty close. Unlike my family—"

"It's just onii-chan decides to stay home, right?" said Komachi, instantly answering.

"Yeah! We're pretty close, just as family should be."

"Indeed, I take is not the case with yours?"

Shinoh just laughed while feeling proud of his family, while Maou took notice of my slip. Damn, I'm just not comfortable with sharing those things with strangers. Not like I have any friends to share them with, anyway. Might as well not share them at all.

"…That's not it. It's because I said I wouldn't go once when I was in middle school. They stopped inviting me over after that."

I wasn't exactly in my rebellious age, but it's oddly embarrassing going on a trip with my family.

So that's why I rejected the offer to go along during second year, but my damn pops was totally happy about it… And was all about 'letting me be' in the vacations after that.

Well, who cares about my pops. These people were the main focus right now.

"Does the families in this country have a custom to be so cold?"

"Mm…Must be hard for the little lady."

"Don't worry. I have onii-chan! When I come home he's always around to see me." As expected of those warm words from my precious sister. It makes everything more bearable "Ah! That scored very high in Komachi points!"

"Yeah, whatever."

I had to do my best to hide my emotions from showing, probably did a bad job at it, because those girls were giving me warm smiles. Stop it, I will become embarrassed. Are you trying to bully me in my own home?

"In any case, I'm surprised of the amount of books in here. Are you an avid reader?" Mhh, what's this Maou-sama? Suddenly changing the course of conversation. Not sure what to think of this.

"Both my dad and onii-chan loves books, so it's going to keep increasing and increasing." Komachi answered in my stead. Really, she should stop doing that.

"Ah, so Hachiman-sama enjoys reading?"

"That's pretty impressive Hachiman-kun!"

I don't think there were that many books, pops had a lot of classics and a bunch of useless texts like party tricks or generic trivia. I can only imagine it comes from his time as a low-tier corporate slave and had to please his superiors during those after-work parties.

Just thinking about it makes me a little more sympathetic towards the man. Well, not like there's much else to it. The rest of the books were mine, mostly alchemy guides, light novels and the titles that caught my attention at the library.

"Onii chan, why are you so quiet?"

"No reason"

"Uhhh, are you sure you aren't thinking of stupid things just to escape reality?"

"…no?"

"Oh, alright then."

For all it's worth, the night went like that for a couple more of hours. After which they finally decided to go to their respective lairs.

Needless to say, my sister's questions and overall tiredness prevented me from any further study that night.

 **[]**

Such a picture appeared in my dream that night.

A crying, lost girl in front of my young self. In the middle of a park near my old home. The sun had started to die out in the horizon and the place was deserted aside from some company workers in the street.

"W-what happened?"

"I…" ´*sniff* "…I got lost."

"Th-then, I will help you find your parents."

A feeling of deja vú invaded me. Was this really the first time something like that happened?

"Really?"

The girl stopped sobbing, starting to look hopeful instead.

"y-yeah."

"…Why?"

For a little kid with the limited experience I had, he wasn't able to sense distrust. He could only shallow his embarrassment and say whatever stupidity was on my mind.

Can't be helped. I was one stupid kid who wore his heart in his sleeve.

"I don't want you to be alone!"

That's probably the only true smile someone gave during that time.

…

"Hey, is that the kid?"

"Yeah, my cousin saw him mingling with Devils."

"It can't be…"

"Hopefully my son doesn't go near him."

"With what those monsters did…"

"Unbelievable."

Whispers between the parents of my classmates.

I was too young to understand them fully.

For a kid, it was normal not knowing the problems between the three races that had taken place before.

But I could easily see the consequences. No, more like I had to live it them.

"Look! Is Hikkifroggy"

"Ewww Let's get away!"

"Mom said he was friends with the devil!"

"Eww! Gross! Scary!"

"He is infected!"

"Hahaha"

Chorus of ridicule from other kids.

Wasted protests on my own.

Looks of disgust around me.

Even so, I wanted to be friends with them. Because they were always happy, having fun together. While I was alone and sad in there.

And yet-

 **[]**

The sun was up and indiscriminately reminding everyone of the daily responsibilities for the day. Yeah, yeah, I know I have to go to school and bore myself to death. I can't even imagine how corporate slaves can live with themselves. High school isn't particularly tedious and yet I can't relax well during exams. That weird dream didn't help up at all.

It probably has to do with the events from yesterday. In my mind, there was still some hope that it was somehow all just an hallucination from my tired mind, worn out by the weight of society and schoolwork. But my sister's comments during breakfast destroyed that little hope inside of my heart.

Must say that it was a great example of sadism, Komachi. It could be that in another life you were some kind of priest with preference for spicy foods? Are you going to tell me 'Yorokobe, shounen' one of these days?

I will say it just now, but I don't have dreams of becoming a hero, nor guard powerful idealism inside of me, and more importantly, I don't have any tragic background.

"I gotta go now," I called out to Komachi.

"Oh, I'll go later."

"I'm going ahead, then. Don't be late." I said. Normally, my sister and I would go to school together, since her middle school shares part of the way with mine, but in some occasions like today, one of us would go ahead. Mostly because of time.

For some reason, when I opened the door, it wasn't my dear bicycle the one who appeared, but the group from yesterday.

The king of Gods, The king of Devils and their daughters; Lisianthus-san and Nerine-san.

I promptly closed the door.

Took a breath- and opened again.

No, they are still there.

"H-hey! Hachiman-dono, that was rude!"

"Uhhh…"

"Calm down, Shin-chan, Hachiman-chan is only nervous."

"But still-!"

*Whack! *

"Dad! I already told you to not bother Hachiman-kun!"

Scary! This girl is scary! She hit the guy with a chair! …Again.

"…Why are you people here?"

"Well, Hachiman-chan. First off, we are neighbors now."

Uh, neighbors you say? Come to think about it, some of them moved away last week. My parents were whining about real estate values and location. It was annoying.

The Maou and Sinoh pointed towards different houses besides mine. At my left, the king of gods was showing a traditional Japanese style house- no it would be more accurate to say it was a traditional looking mansion. While the Maou pointed at the right, where a western style mansion was.

These people sure have money, huh.

"Well, it took a little to arrange it all, but I couldn't deny my Rin-chan's wishes."

"Indeed, I can't go against my Sia's desires."

Just how spoiled are these princesses?

"Well it wasn't actually that hard to pull it off."

"The leaders of this country were really cooperative."

"We only had to stare right into their face and they agreed to everything"

As expected of political leaders, throwing your weight around comes out naturally.

Also, unexpectedly, the leaders of the Devils and Gods are super friendly with each other. Aren't they?

"And going back to your question, Hachiman-chan." Oh, Maou-sama, you didn't forget about me? I'm a little touched by that. "Since we are your friendly neigbours, is only natural to go to school together, after all, it's with your future wife."

"Or is that you don't want to walk to school with my Sia, you bastard!"

*Whack! *

"Dad! Stop bothering Hachiman-kun!"

Huh… so this is going to be a thing? I can't get accustomed to see Lisianthus-san wrecking the so called King of all Gods with a chair out of nowhere…

"Hey, just to be clear, I have no intentions to marry. Especially with someone I barely know."

"It could be that you already have a girlfriend?" That's not the problem here! Are you really okay with leaving your daughter to someone like me, King of Gods?

"W-well…no, but-"

"Then, maybe are you interested in guys?" You surely do like joking around, King of Devils. But please, stop looking so shocked. It makes me look bad.

However, the figure of someone I knew flashed in my mind.

He had neat, silky hair and white limbs that reflected the brilliant sunlight. As he adjusted the racquet case on his back, he let out a soft sigh that dissolved in the air, bringing forth a gust of wind.

It was Totsuka Saika.

Indeed, it was that he was an illusion conjured up by the shimmering hot air rising from the asphalt. My mind went numb for a second there.

In that moment, the people I had thought of as such a goddamn nuisance receded into the background. It was like Totsuka and I were the only two people in the world. Gripped by an onslaught of emotion, my jaw fell slack.

I was absolutely certain I would find him no matter where he went. That, I believed in with all my heart.

"Hey! Don't be naïve! When it comes down to it, the most important thing is the love between people! Things like race, gender, or social classes are irrelevant! As long as our feelings reach out then the rest is irrelevant!"

My mouth moved faster than my mind. I had made my mind, next I manage to see Totsuka I will make sure of making my heart reach across and make Totsuka my girlfriend.

No, wait. Totsuka is a boy too. Damn, there it goes my family plan. What a cruel fate, I'm heartbroken now.

Huh.

Why are you people making such happy faces? Stop blushing, is weird.

"It is as you say, Hachiman-chan. Those are great words to live by."

"Hachiman-sama…"

"That's great Hachiman-kun!"

"Hahaha! You are really a nice guy!"

Oh yeah? Good on you to notice Sinoh. You're right, I am nice. I've been through all kinds of things in my life, but I haven't gone out for revenge on a single person at all. If I was any other normal person, this world would've ended already. You could even call me the savior of the world.

But I think you're getting the wrong idea here…

"Well then, have fun at school today." No Maou, school can't be fun. It's basically part of their definition to not be so. Unless you are some kind of riajuu. Damn those.

"I'll leave Sia to your care!" Hey, stop smacking my back, and I don't' remember having agreed to anything.

Whatever. Let's just get moving. If I got late to class Hiratsuka-sensei will start complaining again.

"…Hey."

"Yes, Hachiman-sama?"

"What's up, Hachiman-kun?"

"It could be that… when we were kids, I meet you before in that park near the station?" I don't really remember much of my time as a kid, as expected since it was so long ago. But straining my head a little would reward me with some flashed of the past.

The image of that small park near the station and my old home would come out easily enough to think is not a completely coincidence.

"You remember!?" Whoa!, lower a little your voice, Lisianthus-san, the neighbors will get mad- no, wait, you are the neighbors now.

"You remembered about that day…!?"

The two of them come uncomfortable close to me and I have to fight the blush forming in my cheeks. Really, don't Devils and Gods have any sense of personal space?

"This is great! Kyaa!"

Lisianthus-san holds her hands in front of her chest and smiles brighter than the shinning sun. Looking like she wanted to start jumping.

"I am moved!"

Nerine-san, stop holding your hands and gaze far away as if you were in a world of dreams. This really isn't worth it.

"I don't really remember Lisianthus-san, Nerine-san" I really didn't. You girls are the ones with impressive memory… or just a very shitty life if you are hang up on a memory from that time. "Just… something like a flash from that place."

For a moment, their faces contort into a strange expression, just to mutter something and go back to their previous disposition.

"Oh, that's not good, not good at all."

"What it isn't?" Aside from the whole fiancée situation? That's 'not good at all' enough in my book.

"The way you address us! Be more relaxed, Hachiman-kun!"

"You can call me Rin, Hachiman-sama"

"Yes! Call me Sia, Hachiman-kun!"

"…I will stick to Nerine-san and Lisianthus-san."

For the sake of my mental health, I muted out their protests during the trip to school.

 **[]**

The muggy air lingered inside the school building. The discomfort was further exacerbated by the crowd that had gathered around the hall outside the classroom, probably to peek over the transfer students.

It's said that rumors only last 72 days, if you were to ask me, that number that incredibly long for highschool students, which had the attention span of a 5 years old kid. Still, it was likely that these girls are to gather attention during the remains of the school semester. I can already see the grades of these curious guys dropping. Though luck, mates.

The word loner makes you think of someone hiding in a dark corner, but when you reached my level of loner, you'd rather wear your loner qualities on your sleeve. And so, as I stood alone at school, my surroundings formed an air pocket like the eye of a hurricane.

It was the greatest advantage when it came to studies. That was why I could maintain my good grades so far.

It had to be tough on people with a swarm of friends around them, what with the humidity causing the protein in their bodies to rise above 36 degrees. A loner could spend the entire rainy part of summer in abnormal comfort. With good ventilation, they could live a peaceful school life.

There was only pity in my heart for all those riajuus that had to maintain good relationships with others. Not only they will suffer high temperatures in summer, but they will also see their grades drop to the average of their group. So sad.

Tall poppy syndrome is a real killer in this school.

As I was cleaning my head of those useless thoughts and preparing to spent my lunch eating, I looked up and encountered a couple of somewhat familiar faces.

"Hachiman-kun, let's eat together!" Looking unnaturally energetic, Lisianthus-san was cheerfully bouncing around my desk. Woman, I can feel the glares from other dudes in the class. Please stop.

"Father gave me some homemade lunches for us, please have a share." Nerine-san. Don't look so bashful, it makes me feel embarrassed too.

This was bad. If I didn't make things clear now, I'd be in serious trouble. For a loner like me, alone time during lunch is a sacred sanctuary that no one should trespass.

When I was about to utter my refusal, another familiar faced showed up. The most popular guy in school, if not in the whole district, Hayama and the fire queen of Sobu, Miura.

"Lisianthus and Nerine it was? I'm Hayato, and she's Yumiko. We were wondering if you wanted to have lunch with us"

There it was. The so called 1000 watts smile that could melt any girl in seconds. For a riajuu, he did have some cool skills. Not as cool as mine though. He was pointing over the rest of his cronies from where they were looking expectantly. For some reason, Yugahama wasn't around.

"We wanted to welcome you to the school." Talk about strange, Miura looks pretty welcoming of the new girls around. I was half expecting her to battle with them to maintain position around, buy it seems like she is trying to win them over the group instead.

"Oh?! Thanks! Let's eat all together, Hachiman-kun!"

"Mh? I guess Hikio can come too."

"…Yeah, Hikitani-kun, you are invited to come as well."

What's this? You only looked at me right now with surprise? I have been here the whole time, don't tell me you forgot!

Lisianthus looked confused, Nerine however keep on smiling.

"Hayate-san was it? I'm so sorry but we have plans already, I hope you have fun. Now if you excuse us."

"Yeah, see you around."

Ara? Are my eyes deceiving me or the girls completely ignored the charms of the school's king? Surprising, so far the only one to do so was Yukinshita. But she seemed already inclined to dislike him from the start.

"Wha-what!? We are inviting you, you know?!" How ominous, it seems that you ended up incurring the wrath of the fire queen, Nerine-chan.

"Humph! Did I stutter, Yuriko-san?"

Shoots fired! Nerine was still smiling, but the temperature of the room had dropped several grades. I really hoped it was just me and not Nerine using magic. I was somewhat curious of seeing Devil's magic firsthand and the fire queen being challenged.

But my survival instincts took over the matter.

Taking advantage of the situation, I used one of my 108 skills: Stealth Hikki to get out of the classroom without anyone noticing me. Hahaha, that guy in games that used a cardboard box to hide in enemy's base had nothing on me.

"Ah! Hachiman-kun, wait for us!"

"Hachiman-sama, where are you going?!"

Urgh. They ended up eating with me in my usual spot.

 **[]**

We always looked only at the things we wanted to see.

Interpretations was defined only by the numbers of people, whether if it was for the impressions of a movie or of a person.

That's why it's ridiculous to understand them, or even try to. It's a sin and an evil to think you can completely understand someone.

But unless we acted as if we understood something, we wouldn't be able to live.

Understanding and being understood by someone would cause the both of you two have a mutual, vague realization of each other; either that, you'd be unable to live on unless you redefined that person every time and talked about it.

But that mattered little to someone like me.

I mean, I had a real feeling the world would keep spinning properly even if Hikigaya Hachiman did not exist. I remembered the quiet tranquility of it all.

An irreplaceable existence is a scary one. I mean, if you lose it, you can't get it back. It will be lost forever. So losing it in the first place is impermissible. It is a point of no return.

And so, relatively speaking, I quite liked the relationships I had been building so far, which couldn't even be called relationships. If something happened, I could cut things off lightly and no one would get hurt.

"Hachiman-sama, where are we going now?"

The voice of a Devil awoke me from my train of thought.

Nerine, didn't you know already? I'm a little worried about you just following me around if you didn't. Be a little more careful. Because I don't want to think what your parents would do in case something happened.

"Hiratsuka-sensei said that my club would show you around school grounds today." I take back my words from yesterday. There's no way I would be able to walk around with them alone.

"I'm excited to meet Hachiman-kun's friends"

"…Yeah…"

After lunch the classes resumed as normal. Or so one with little self-awareness would say. It was obvious to everyone how strained the atmosphere of the classroom was for the whole afternoon lessons.

Right now we were walking to the old building, quickly dwarfing the distance between the Service Club and us. No, it would be more exact to say that we had already arrived.

I lazily opened the door.

"Yo."

"Such lame greeting, as expected of Hikigaya-kun." Good, the ice queen of Sobu, miss Yukinoshita Yukino herself was already present. Looking as regal and cold as always.

"Yahallo Hikki!" Yuigahama was around too. I wondered for a moment if asking where she was during lunch, but I quickly discarded the idea. She probably was eating with Yukinoshita or talking with a teacher. It was test period and her grades were pathetic.

"I take that they are Lisianthus-san and Nerine-san?" Yukinoshita said while looking at the people at my sides. "We were informed about our duty with you today." Geez, what a way to put it that we have to show them around.

"Good afternoon. My name is Nerine, pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Lisianthus, but you can call me Sia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Yukinoshita Yukino."

"Hi! I'm Yui. Let's get along!"

"Yuigahama-san, please introduce yourself properly."

"Oh Yui-chan, that's a cute cellphone." Yui-chan already Lisianthus-san? You surely got some high grade people skills right there.

"You think so?! It was in offer too!"

"Really? You must tell me where you got it-"

The incredible scene of two nice girls starting a friendship was being displayed right in front of me. I could almost see the lilies and roses around them. Seriously, riajuus are weird creatures. Especially women.

In contrast, while Lisianthus-san went to talk Yuigahama about the most inconsequential things. Almost shyly, Nerine started to approach Yukinoshita, it seems that she also isn't as comfortable with meeting new people.

"So you are Hachiman-sama's friend?"

"Nothing like that. We are… I wonder what we are. I despise to say this, but we are probably acquaintances with each other. In spite of my best desires." While looking as graceful as ever, Yukinoshita delivers a perfect refusal of being friends with me. As expected of the resident ice queen.

"That's… not a nice thing to say." Nerine replies in a low voice, she seems to be a little bit cross by the comment. For a moment I wondered if it was because Yukinoshita's jab at me, but quickly I decided it must have been about how blunt she was.

"Hey isn't that a little too cruel? We are clubmates after all." To be completely honest, it doesn't bother me much how she does actually sees me, but being denied so bluntly is a little irritating.

"Indeed, I'm forced to spend my club activities with this thing. A terrible fate."

"…I see." I'm not sure what did Nerine saw at all, but it can't be any good at all. She's pretty much glaring at Yukinoshita… It was kind of cute that she did so while puffing her cheeks.

I mean… annoying. Yeah. It was most definitely annoying. Even if seeing the ice queen making a confused face made my day.

"But Sia-chan transferred just for the exams, won't that be hard?"

"Hahaha… It will be a little though."

"We were originally going to transfer after vacations, but the opportunity showed up early."

"Yeah, we were excited to meet Hachiman-kun as soon as possible!"

"I-it's that so?" Why, Yuigahama, no need to look so surprised. Well, I am still unconvinced of all this too. So I can't blame you.

"Incredible, Hikiscum-kun had already laid his hands of these poor girls."

You're wrong Yukinoshita. I did not lay my hands on anyone and these are anything but poor. My ex-neighbors could attest that… if I could remember them.

"It was nothing like that."

"W-well, you guys also came just in time for vacations!" Yuigahama sensed the bad atmosphere around Nerine and promptly tried to divert the attention. Good job, Gahama-san!

"Yeah! Vacations were always with my family, so I'm looking forward to spent this one with Hachiman-kun and our friends!"

"Haha…ha" Don't sound so dejected Gahama-san, you will most likely spend the summer with your group… when not in supplementary lessons, anyway.

"Yes, spending time with others makes it better." Nerine-san, why are you throwing glances at me? I have no intention to spent my time with anyone this year either.

"Indeed, vacations are a time to relax from schoolwork."

It was just for a moment, but Yukinoshita didn't seem all that happy when talking about vacations, her tone was a little sour.

"Well, summer vacations are like that" It was just a fact. Even if they were designed as a breather time for students, it ended up becoming all but such. Everyone would tell you to take advantage of the time to study more or just get mad at you when you were slacking around the house. Well, my parents were out almost always, so I wasn't pressured to do anything. Nice. "Just like that time when my parents planned a whole two-weeks trip as a family, but in the end, it was only for them and Komachi, so I spent my time alone at home, playing games. Vacations can be nice like that"

"WHAT?!" Ouch, be more careful with your tone woman. You are around normal humans.

"Incredible. As expected of Hikigaya-kun, not even vacations can change his hikkikomori nature." Yukinoshita does not waste a single moment to make a jab towards me.

Once again, Nerine gives Yukinoshita a strange mix between glare and pout.

"That does sounds like Hikki."

"Well… it does sounds relaxing" No need to try to be nice, Lisianthus-san. I'm perfectly happy with how things are.

"...I can't deny that." I didn't want to deny it either. It was just who Hikigaya Hachiman was.

Nerine gives me an expectant look while opening her arms in a hug gesture. What do you want from me? I will have you know that I don't carry much money with me right now.

Suddenly, Lisianthus-san began patting my shoulder.

"Don't worry Hachiman-kun, we will spend with you this summer… and all the other ones, if possible." Mhh, excuse miss princess of all gods, but what was that last part? I totally didn't hear you. Really, it's not like I'm ignoring you being so forward. That's the truth.

"...Nah, I'm accustomed to be alone anyway. I prefer it that way."

Surely, my middle school self would be ecstatic of spending summer with a beauty like her, but for the current Hikigaya Hachiman, that's nothing more than a bother.

"Instead of worrying about the vacation, you should concentrate in the tests. Especially you, Yuigahama-san."

"Ah…well-" Yuigahama makes some attempt to cover for her sad grades.

"Just to I won't be helping you."

"Wha! B-but Yukinon!"

"I take Yui-chan doesn't do well in school either?" You sound very hopeful there, Lishianthus, it could be that you want a friend with low-grades too? It can't be that yours are as awful as hers though.

"She's pretty much a moron."

"Hikki! I'm not a moron!"

"Indeed Hikigaya-kun, is unbecoming to critic other people's grades when yours aren't good either."

"I'm fourth overall the school." I did better in alchemy and social studies… well, my math grades can be as bad as Yuigahama's from time to time.

"Mh, What's that? A fourth place talking back to the first one?"

This woman! Don't look so smug while saying that!

"We-well, shouldn't we start that tour around?"

"Indeed we should do so before Hikicriminal-kun here tries something."

"That would be fine." Lisianthus interrupts with one bold statement. It wasn't very convincing since she was red to the ears.

"…Excuse me?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, if you do act a little more forward."

"Y-yeah, that wouldn't be bad." Nerine also backs her up while her cheeks began to redden at an alarming pace. Are you sick or something?

I'm 100% sure it isn't because you actually want me to be forward with you and you got embarrassed about it. Must be the weather.

Needless to say. The tour around and the rest of the day was one of the toughest in my short life.

 **A/N: Alright, I'm very pleased with the good reception this project got. You guys are awesome.**

 **Some things in this chapter didn't went as well as I expected, but it mostly came together. Still, this doesn't have much sense of cohesion yet. It bugs me a little.**

 **Please don't forget to review, I like those.**

 **I prefer King of Gods over Sinoh and King of Devils over Maou, but it can be a mouthful sometimes. Some suffixes may have been omitted because I forgot to edit this chapter.**

 **Now onto some important tidbits.**

 **I changed some things in Oregairu canon to make the merge with Shuffle easier, of course, I modified some things from Shuffle too, for the same reason.**

 **Namely, Hikigaya isn't as interested in the Service Club or Yukinoshita as in canon.** **He's also more into his studies, mostly because alchemy, Zaimokuza too.** **They may appear to be a little OOC because of that (and the past changes too).**

 **The three races as well as their conflict during "the opening" and their diplomatic/peaceful relationships nowadays will be more explored. Not by much, but more than canon.**

 **The timeline as well had a couple of minor changes, to make things a little easier (for me).**

 **Rin is still around, as well as the other secondary characters from Shuffle, they will make their appearance eventually.**

 **Hikigaya was the one who met Lycoris and Sia when kids. Of course, the meeting went a little different than in canon.**

 **Now, onto some reviews**

 **TheLaughingStalk Lenny-kun: I tried adding a little more to have a better flow. Seems like it worked.**

 **Curima: Yeah, I'm in SB too, with the same name and everything. Also, being able to see the future seems super useful for entertainment.**

 **Mizuru-chi: Glad you liked it. I'm a fan of your All The World's Evil too.**

 **shiroryuu012: Here's next. Hope you like it.**

 **NPwall: It originally was a crossover with "Oretachi ni tsubasa ga nai" in my head.**

 **Infadinityfollower: Thanks! Glad to be back.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Try As You Might, You Can't Escape Love.**

I've heard that starlight is a relic of a distant past. Because starlight reaches out from the past, it transcends many months and years. The light from those bygone days leaps out at us.

Everyone is a slave to their past. No matter how much you wish to move forward, the events of yester year will bear down on you like the light of the stars as soon as you glance up. Unable to laugh or to banish your past, you carry it ceaselessly in a corner of your heart, waiting for it to resurrect at an inopportune moment.

Without going too far away. Those two girls who intruded in my life so suddenly because some bibulous past connection. Since then, all kind of rumors had been brewing in school around me.

It didn't do much other than bother me and make me wonder why they were losing time in such petty things during exams week. At least school was now over and I didn't have to deal with that anymore.

Still, it's a perfect example of your past coming to bite you in the present. Just another example. About a guy back in middle school, there was a girl he liked. She was a cute, music-loving girl who belonged to the wind instrument club. On that girl's birthday, he summoned all his courage and gave her a present. For that music-loving girl, he stayed up all night compiling a bunch of anime songs to recommend. He paid careful attention to the song selection. They were not too otaku-ish, and he even had the foresight to slip in love songs from the ranking chart at the time.

His present was accepted, and the guy almost cried with joy. But tragedy occurred the next day. At lunch time, there issued from the school's PA system the stylish song intro the broadcast committee chose: 'Aaaand the next song was requested by Class 2C's Otagaya Hachiman-kun (snicker), a love song (snicker) for Yamashita-san!

Actually, the name 'Otagaya' became kind of famous around the school, according to my sister, the rumor is still around. I hope it didn't make any trouble for her…

Ahem! Anyway, even memories are bad, in general. The happy ones will only make you yearn for the past bliss and remind you of the bleak reality from the present. While the sad ones will make you consider ending it all.

Let's not talk about the embarrassing memories. Even all the summer vacation wouldn't be enough.

In short, one should never expect anything good coming from the past.

 **[…]**

Today was one of the first days of summer vacation, the heatwave was already beginning to show and I was already spending my time in the best way.

By playing some games in my vita-chan, without anyone bothering me.

Summer is best spent alone. Being alone is a good thing. It's hot, after all.

I didn't have to do anything anymore. It was quite splendid. I was content with my lot in life. Only, it isn't so great if your boss at work tells you, "You don't have to do anything anymore." That's harsh, so harsh that I quit.

Come to think of it, I haven't had any part time jobs for a while now.

Before I entered the Service Club I had part time jobs here and there… in most cases, I couldn't get close to anyone by the end of it all and I usually quit after about three months. It was annoying to go back to return the uniform, so I just mailed them a paycheck.

Well, since I have some free time, I may as well take up some part-time to escape somewhere.

I could use the extra money for books and it would give me the perfect excuse to not mingle with the new neighbors.

As expected of myself. It's a perfect plan.

Just while I was letting my thoughts drift again. My sister entered into the living room while looking very fashionable… just where is this brat going- Oh, right. She said something about meeting some friends yesterday.

Another mystery resolved, Sherlock.

"Hey, shouldn't you be doing your summer homework?" I hate to say this, but summer homework was the bane and tragedy of all students in vacation around the world.

Destroying your time of relaxing, it came as a well-timed natural disaster, destroying happiness all around its wake.

Surely, it was worse for those with lots of friends, since they would be dragged on doing those chores with the rest, with would only end up with someone doing it all while the rest go to the karaoke or lazed around.

Source: errhhh…. Otagaya-kun.

"Onii-chan! Don't be lame! It's summer, you should go out and stop thinking of that!"

Stupid sister of mine, this is why we can't have nice things… and why your grades suck so much.

"I won't help you out if you leave it all for the last minute like last time."

"EHHHH!? Y-you can't be serious!"

"…. why not?"

"Because Onii-chan loves Komachi very much and will help if asked." She says while making a cute gesture.

"…tsk." That was sly Komachi, too sly. Worse is that I know I will help her out if she needs it. I'm a very good big brother after all… Well, it's probably my compliance which is making her spoiled.

"Alright then! Komachi's out!" Making a mocking salute, she made her way towards the entrance.

"Whatever, take care."

With that. I went back to my game and thoughts. It looks like this can still be a good day.

"You." A somewhat familiar voice echoed. What's with women in this family and taking my summer time?

"Me, indeed" I answer lazily to my annoyed mother at the other end of the line.

"Are you even aware of the trouble you're causing?"

"Hey, I didn't ask for the royalty of both Devils and Gods to come knocking the door with trouble."

"Still, you should be dealing quickly with it."

"How? No one even told me before they were already here!" There should be some kind of protocol for these kind of things. I would have bolted out of the district if I had been given the chance.

"Don't worry about that, we were contacted."

"You were?!"

"Yeah, that's why we aren't too worried about your safety."

Wait. What do you mean by 'safety'?

"…and no one told me?"

"They came for you! How could you not know!"

"They are talking about something that happened years ago. I don't even remember it."

"Just deal with it and don't cause problems to us. People are starting to talk at work and your father isn't happy."

"…It's far from being that easy."

"How so? Just choose the cuter girl and try to build up something."

"Relationships aren't built like that…"

"I'm not asking you to take it seriously. They will leave you in a while after seeing the mess you can be. Just make sure is not your complete fault and be done!"

"…I refuse to play with other's feelings like that."

"Then do it your way, just do it soon."

"Anyway, you can probably deal with this."

"Why the sudden burst of confidence in me?"

"We trust you, Hachiman. Your father and I."

…They did? Maybe that was why they were all so engrossed in work? Because they trusted me to take care of things while they weren't around?

A strange warm feeling broke free in my chest.

"Yeah, your grades are decent, so you aren't stupid." For a moment I was unsure if take pride because of that or take it as an insult saying that I'm only intelligent because of my grades… which would make Komachi in stand on the other end.

Still, it was a nice moment.

"So start moving your ass and take a bride so we can go on with our lives in peace."

Aaaannndddd just like that, the moment was ruined. Seriously mom, you always pull out something like this. I swear there's something wrong with you and your husband…

"Really? …. Is that all?" I don't know if you are completely aware of this, but angering the King of Devils and the King of Gods can't be good in any way. Actual advice would be appreciated, for once.

"Just do your best. Your father and I will take the opportunity to see if we can go in some business trip for a while. Just call if you need something. We have your back."

How!? You are literally running away from this!

"…Yeah, will do."

"Good. Now, Komachi said she was out with a friend, so go do the shopping. Will send a text with what you need to buy."

And with that. The matriarch of the Hikigaya household cut the call. Well, this is the longest conversation I had with her in a while, so I will try to not depress too much about the contents of it.

 **[…]**

Don't go mixing up simple change with growth.

I don't want to call simple change and the end solution of compromise, "growth". I don't want to pretend that "to become an adult" is to resign to your fate.

As if people can dramatically change so quickly within a small span of time. Humans aren't transformers.

One day, without a doubt, I will change. I will be changed. Just how I changed to who I was now.

It didn't matter what my heart was like, how I am seen, how I am perceived and how I am judged will undoubtedly change.

If a world that is in a constant state of flux continues to change, then my surroundings, my environments, and the axis around which I evaluate will distort and change, and my essential nature will change.

However, that doesn't mean I will grow as a person. Just that I became different from who I used to be. With different mentality, memories, goals and essence. I wouldn't keep of being the same I was in the past.

That's why.

If I could become something I wanted to become, then I wouldn't have become like this in the first place.

Such thoughts entered my mind while I was in my way to the nearest supermarket. Silently I prayed to have a good encounter that lift my spirits. Preferably with Totsuka. Just to remember that the King of Gods was my neighbor and not someone I felt like praying to.

I was already making line to the counter when, my eyes caught sight of certain troublesome young Devil.

This isn't a good encounter at all, stupid rom-com gods! Totsuka would have been preferable. Then again, spending time with Totsuka was preferable to most events in the world.

I abide by truth, if there was a Totsuka for every 100 people around the world, there wouldn't be more wars, corruption or suicides. Truly, Totsuka is the sun that shines in the hearts of men.

Except that Totsuka is a guy. Damn.

Well, I don't think she will spot me in the crowd here. Even if she did, I could always feign ignorance and move.

"Hachiman-sama!" There went my hopes.

"Yo." And here I made the coup d' grace.

"Were you shopping?" She asks cutely- I mean, annoyingly.

"Mh." Just nod while lifting a little my basket full of groceries.

"What a coincidence to encounter each other here."

"…Are you also shopping?" Good, Hachiman. Stating the obvious is always a good way to kill conversations.

"Yes. I will try to make dinner tonight." Nerine made a resolute expression while saying that. It anything, she seemed full of spirit. Moved by curiosity, I looked over her shopping basket.

"…Just what on earth are you making for dinner?"

"Ah, I was thinking in trying ramen today." Her soft response was somewhat understandable. Ramen is such an odd choice for eating. It's a food better suit to be eaten alone. The soup would get cold and the noodles would get soggy if all you did was chat over the table. It was a food I enjoyed greatly.

"…You won't be needing milk for that."

"Eh!? Really?" Really, little devil. Looking a little more in her basket, I found all kinds of strange food ingredients that shouldn't be in the ramen… and a worrying lack of actual ingredients inside.

"…Want me to help you?" I must be idiotic or downright self-harming. Is maybe the first time in forever that I offer my help from nowhere.

"I would be thankful… but aren't you in a hurry?" she pointed towards my basket and I considered taking her offer and going my way.

But the contents on her own basket worried me. It was because I was a fan of ramen and nothing more, that I went against my better judgment.

"Don't worry. The line will be shorter if I take a small detour anyway."

"Thank you then!" her lips curl in a soft smile and I have to look away to hide the blush forming in my cheeks.

"…Let's finish this quickly then." I take her basket and go back to the racks inside the building. Putting back the items that had no place in a good ramen and filling it with more traditional ones.

Just in case. I also talked a little about cooking ramen. The noodles were especially important, the drinks to accompany it and such. Well, if she is anything like Yuigahama in the kitchen then this information is probably wasted.

"Hachiman-sama… it could be that you can cook?" He depressed visage is somewhat amusing.

"Nothing much, but I can prepare some things."

"I…see…" Damn, she looks scary now. Gotta do something. I don't want this to end in a nice boat.

"W-well, it's mostly because my parents were always out so I had to make food for Komachi when younger, you see."

"That sounds very responsible." Ah, she's gone back to her usual cheerful self. Good… I guess. Not like I care.

"Well, nowadays is Komachi the one doing it, since she cooks better."

"She must be gifted in those aspects…" Is that envy what I feel, Nerine-san? I will make this clear, but you can't do anything to my sister.

Mh? She started fidgeting in her place. Does she want to say something?

"…Is something the matter?"

"Ah! err…Do you like ramen, Hachiman-sama?" She asks me shyly.

"Yeah." Well, I wouldn't say that I'm an enthusiast of it, but a loner was always surging with the frontier spirit and was a modern-day adventurer in search for new stores of ramen. It's a manly food to be eaten alone, after all.

"Uhh… Maybe you could come to eat why us."

"I-I… maybe another time." Behold, one of my 108 skills: Feign interest by saying that you will do it later and never do it. This skill was born from numerous encounters with other wielders of it. I had little opportunities to actually use it, but I see it's worth of its fame.

"I see… then I hope that day come soon." She says while smiling brightly. Such devastating power! It's over 9000! Don't do that, I will feel bad if I don't go now! Stupid skill, you're useless here!

As an actor entering the scene, The Devil King Forsbetti appeared from nowhere.

"Ah, Nerine-chan. You managed to get the correct ingredients this time!" The Devil man starts praising his daughter non-stop while some tears fall from his eyes. Just how bad is that girl at cooking?

"F-father! Stop that!" At least, she does seem embarrassed by the display. Regrettably, you don't seem to have any chairs around, unlike Lishanthus-san. Though luck, Nerine.

"In that venue, thanks for helping Nerine, Hachiman-chan." Stop calling me with the '-chan' you old Devil. In case you didn't notice, I'm a guy too and we aren't close in that sense for you to use that! Actually, we aren't close at all!

"…I did nothing." At my response, the Devil King just gave me a knowing smile, annoying me more.

More importantly, why you decided so quickly that I was the one? It could have been one of the employees or even Nerine using a list.

"Very well then, I bid you farewell, Hachiman-chan." He just says that while patting me in the back. Weirdo.

Like that, the King of Devils was lost to my sight in the middle of the crowd, with his daughter in tow. How climatic for someone of his power. Not.

 **[…]**

 ** _[Nerine's POV]_**

Today I talked to him again. Just being together makes my heart flutter with joy.

It could have been longer our time together, but father had to appear. Thoughtless father. I wasn't going to buy poison. You didn't need to go looking for me the moment mom told you I was shopping ingredients for dinner. You are way too rude with your daughter.

In truth… today's experiment was a failure, but still! And Hachiman-sama had even given me tips to cook…

Hachiman-sama.

He's still keeping his distance, unsure of what to make of Sia-chan and me. Cute embarrassment and annoyance are close companions in his face when he is around us. But also fear is ever present in his handsome visage.

The possible reasons for that were dancing around my mind and fencing off my sleep.

Could it be that he is afraid to close the distance between us?

That, I could understand. I am not a stranger to fake friendly people that only want to use you or grow closer to your position rather than yourself. No, being born in the Royal family came with as many perks as drawbacks.

Father was a truly kind man who always gave me what I wanted, yet he wouldn't ever let me shy away from my responsibilities as the princess of devils. To never forget that I am the daughter of the Demon King Forsbetti and have people address to me as another extension of father…

To not been seen as yourself, but as a merely shadow of another.

Perhaps is he afraid of something similar with us?

Because we came to see the boy from years ago, instead of the young man he was now. Growing doesn't always indicate change. I wasn't very familiar with it, since most Devils maintained their nature over their lives. It went as far as most houses possessing intrinsic personality traits shared among all.

But I had heard that humans were fickle and prone to changes over the course of small amounts of time.

Maybe his mind is lost instead of his heart?

Seeing himself as a different person than the one Lycoris and Sia-chan fell so strongly in love with.

It could be that our presence is creating him trouble?

People in this country were alike Devils, they liked to move on packs just like back home. But here they also only acted when they felt pressured for it or had some strong reason to do so. While most Devils were always in a constant pursuit of something.

In that sense, Hachiman-sama is truly outstanding, preferring to move alone, according to his own desires and kindness, sometimes trying to mask it in thin veils of logic. Just like today.

However, just our arrival seemed to make waves. Classmates and unrelated students alike had been… less than kind with Hachiman-sama.

Rumors and masked insults were thrown around his figure, while he ignored them all. Some of them weren't even aware of who was he. So it must have started with our entrance.

Even people who seemed close to him were on edge when we were around. Those girls in his club particularly annoyed me. The blubby one acted somewhat close to him in the club, but also ignored him during classes in favor of another group. Why was that?

The other girl sends alarms in my head. I couldn't sense either true animosity or affection on his banter with Hachiman-sama, so I wasn't sure if she was flirting with him or looking for a fight. Neither option appealed me much. But perhaps the second one was easier to digest.

I could not enter in his mind, but I was aware of how such treatment would have damaged my heart. Surely, he was hurting too. Even if he didn't show it openly.

Took all my willpower to restrain myself from blowing them all. People talking and criticizing of which they weren't part of and couldn't understand… I disliked it greatly.

Maybe he simply disliked m- us?

That was a depressing thought.

Even if we spent time together, it doesn't mean we will become closer to each other.

Lycoris… These feelings you held so dearly in your heart are still alive within me.

Your request… to not let that boy, who gave it all for you, alone ever again burns true in my mind.

But… is that really the best course of action right now?

Regardless, I shall carry on your will.

Because we are now one, in heart and spirit.

* * *

 **A/N:** This whole chapter is starting to seem depressing and is short despise being somewhat difficult for me to write, Hachiman, really stop talking so much, you depress me. You're also way too OOC. Tricky bastard.

I need Itsuki to make things better.

Also, more Sia and Primula appears next chapter.

Just as an extra. Hachimom may appear a little... well, unlikable. She doesn't hate him or anything. And if you thought she was bad then just wait until Hachidad appears.

I'm doing 4 stories a week, in different sites. While my productivity is all time high since years ago, I feel like quality has dropped. Sometimes I end up using the incorrect words or some sentences are structured weirdly. This is more because my lack of knowledge of the language, so if anyone is interested in helping me out as a beta or just helping in some chapters or just bouncing around some ideas then please feel free to PM me

Now onto some comments.

Alternate Rouge : Me too, but the guy is making things difficult.

Mizuru-chi : I-it's not like I forgot about sable or anything b-baka!

infadinityfollower: Thanks!

srosnan99 : 1- We are both aware of that, he isn't yet. But I will edit the chapter when I have time. 'Et tu' was a simple reference, I know nothing of french.

2-Rin (shuffle Mc) is around, will appear and has him own romantic troubles, so don't worry much about that.

3- It's more about putting the field a little more even, it doesn't mean that he won't grow closer to them or that won't be conflict between the SC and Sia/Rin. Most of the conflict will probably arise from them growing closer or distant from each other...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter** **Four: The Devil Has His Winning Ways**

* * *

The swarm of people walking under this scorching heat did so painfully slowly. Most were in company of their friends, family or even lovers and they take their sweet time at walking around. Maybe it was because they were so absorbed in conversation, they stopped paying attention to their walking pace? Perhaps they just wanted to stretch out their time with each other, even if it was just for a little longer?

Whatever the case, for a consummate loner like me -who just wanted to go quickly to the local library, it was a scene that made you want to scream.

When you hear the word "scream," even a grade school kid knows that great masterpiece by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The figure of a man on a bridge covering his ears, drawn with a bizarre composition and palette in fluctuating lines. A perfect representation of a loner forced to walk in these crowded streets in search for aisle.

Just to be clear, I'm not someone who would willingly choose the hot streets of Chiba during summer when the option to stay at home is available. After all, there's no point of comparison between playing games with the air conditioner on, and walking around sweaty corporate slaves and riajuus.

Alas, I had no true choice in the matter. Ever since the princess of Gods and the princess of Devils had appeared in my house (alongside their fathers), my dear sister had been more than privy about my relationship with them, combined with a broken air conditioner, it was enough to make me break my vows and go outside by my own volition.

As I was stumbling along, a fluorescent green jersey came into view. One that I'm very familiar with. The same type of jersey I normally used for gym class.

But the clothing was rather unimportant, compared to who was wearing it-

It was Totsuka Saika. He had neat, silky hair and white limbs that reflected the brilliant sunlight. As he adjusted the racquet case on his back, he let out a soft sigh that dissolved in the air, bringing forth a gust of wind.

He had yet to notice me and for a moment, I thought he was an illusion conjured up by the shimmering hot air rising from the asphalt.

In that moment, the crowd I had thought of as such a goddamn nuisance receded into the background. It was like Totsuka and I were the only two people in the world. Gripped by an onslaught of emotion, my jaw fell slack.

"Totsukuuuu-" The utterance died in my throat. Instead, this weird sigh slipped out. The family surrounding me gave me odd looks from a distance and hurried away.

Someone else was running up to Totsuka, waving energetically behind him. The boy wore a matching jersey, and a racquet resembling Totsuka's was slung over his back. When I saw how well they got along, I couldn't bring myself to call out to him, instead, I just gazed at the scene silently.

The other guy clapped his hands lightly together in front of Totsuka, probably because he had been late for their meet-up. In response, Totsuka shook his head casually. Even from a distance, I could clearly see his shy smile.

The two of them exchanged a few words and headed off towards the outlet store together. Once I had finishing watching them disappear into the distance, I starting walking off again.

 _So Totsuka had club activities, huh…_ It made sense that he would have friends involved in the club too. Right. It was summer vacation, so of course he would have club activities. It wasn't like I was jealous or wanted him to only be chummy with me or anything. Really.

…I guess that having the King of Gods as your neighbor doesn't automatically give you the blessings from the rom-com gods. I'm in despair!

Somehow, I managed to keep walking without falling to the ground in despair -making my best impression of zetsubou-sensei.

Once again, I was alone in the crowds of people. Normally, you would see some single wage slaves, housewives or even students going around by themselves but today seemed to be something like an impromptu valentine's day, everyone being together with someone else… Please, all of you go explode and clear this road for me.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted a curious scene, a single girl across the street was standing in front a crane game. She was just staring at the crane game without any expression in her face, not even playing the game or inspecting the machine.

She has her hair tied up in twintails, her clothes are black and such totally unsuited for this heat, she looked small and thin. Compared to the other girls of her age, she gave off a somewhat mature impression. Frankly speaking, I'd say she was more than cute enough already.

However, her most eye-catching feature are her long ears, the length giving away that she's a devil. While the sight of devils, like gods, were starting to become less of an extraordinary sight and more of a commonplace thing in this city, it was still strange to found one completely alone.

 _Did she lose her money to the game? Or is she waiting for someone nearby?_ Whatever the case, it's better for me to just ignore this. If I go to ask her it will end up with a police officer arresting me for false charges. I can already see it, no one will defend me in court and Yukinoshita may even take advantage of the situation, she totally would-

"…"

"…Huh?" My inner monologue meets an abrupt end when I noticed the girl from before standing in front of me and staring directly at my eyes.

 _Does she want to rob me or something?_

"…"

"…"

Slowly, she grabs the end of my shirt while still staring at my face. Please stop or I'll start blushing. Actually, just tell me what you want.

"…"

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"I'm… looking for someone…" She responded in a low voice.

"Huh. Do you have a name or something?" I guess I can walk her up to the police station.

"Hachiman." Although she muttered the words out of the corner of her mouth, it wasn't like you couldn't hear her.

"Just that? Is a very common name." It's coincidentally my own name, after all. Not that 'Hachiman' is an uncommon name, actually even if it were, with the amount of people in this country, it's bound the be repeated quite a bit.

"Are you Hachiman?"

"That's my name, but I doubt I'm the one you're looking for."

"Do you know… Nerine?"

"If you are referring to the princess of Devilkin, saying that I 'know' her is a bit of a stretch… You could say that we are barely acquittanced with each other."

Upon hearing my words, she abruptly moved and pulled me into a hug.

"Oi, let me go."

"I … finally found you… Hachiman."

"Hey, kid…" I tried to protest but she just embraced me tighter, like a lost child after finally finding her mother. After a couple of minutes, I took notice of the strange looks the passersby were giving us. "Damn it."

Whatever, she mentioned Nerine, didn't she?

[]

Getting to the home of my devilish neighbors was way more tiring than I had expected, not only the little kid -Primula or something, refused to let me go, but when we finally arrived and I asked for a meeting, Nerine thought I was asking her on a date. Sorry to say girl, but I haven't been on a date ever, and I don't feel like asking you one either.

After I rectified her mistake, she thought I was going to ask her father in a date. Just what's her mental image of me? Actually, I prefer to not know that.

Things changed after she recognized the kid glued to me…

"Homunculus? Are you kidding me?" I asked, not really waiting for an answer. We were inside the living room of the Maou's home, he had invited us to explain the situation with Primula, but so far, I couldn't give credit to my ears.

"I kid you not, Hachiman-chan"

I just stared at him in disbelief. Homunculus were artificial humans, unlike the ones normally seen in fiction, the creation of them is something possible on paper with the use of magic. I haven't studied much of them, since most advanced alchemy wasn't free information, but I was aware of the theory behind it.

Not the most 'humane' of things to dwell on.

"She's part of a conjoint project between Devils and Gods from many years ago. Primula here, has extraordinary magical power." The Maou said, completely nonchalant about it. As if he were talking about the weather. "Well, even if she's very powerful, she doesn't have a complete control over it, so if it blows up, you can expect the whole prefecture to be obliterated at the very least."

"…Why?"

"We needed someone with extraordinary magical capacity for our experiments. If such magic were to become wieldable, then the situation between the three worlds would change drastically." The King of Devils explained, while refilling some tea for everyone. "A total of three homunculi were made, all under different methods, but the first two were lost because we couldn't control their extreme power."

Homunculi, artificial beings. Experiments. Great amounts of magic. Previous subjects lost. Dead.

"Primula is the youngest and still unstable. She doesn't like interacting with others, but she's fond of Nerine for some reason, so you can just think of her as Nerine's little sister."

It was human experimentation, or something equally wrenching and atrocious. For a moment, I was unable to connect those actions with the man in an apron right in front of me.

I had forgotten about it, but this was the man that led all Devilkin, maintained a whole word united and ruled as the sole King of Devils.

It made sense, I guess. Humanity held the advantage of numbers and greater technology, but all Gods and Devils could use devastating magic without problem. The first battles fought right after 'the opening' were proof enough that neither side had enough power over the others for any definite win. Furthermore, there wasn't a definite peace treaty between the three races, just smaller diplomatic agreements, all temporal.

The circumstances were more of a standoff or a temporal truce than any real peace-time.

"This is disgusting." I mumbled, letting my thoughts to walk free from my mouth.

"Hachiman-sama…" Nerine looked at me with concern, but I didn't meet her gaze, losing myself in thought.

"I suppose there isn't much to do about that reaction," The Maou responded, with a mourning expression on his face. "We all had our doubts about this, but the situation wasn't one to hesitate."

I wanted to retort to that, but I couldn't do so. Regardless of my own feelings in the matter, there wasn't much I could do at this point. So, I just sighed resignedly and turned to Primula; she was quietly eating a slice of cake. For a second, I thought about how she looked around Komachi's age.

She didn't seem like someone who had been artificially created for experiments or someone who held enough power to pass as a walking nuke. But I knew how people lied, no matter their race or background, they could lie about their feelings with ease and appear nonchalant with their hearts were in turmoil.

Her disinterested, somewhat sad visage was somewhat reminiscent of Yukinoshita's or my own.

I sighed again.

"Why… no, how she managed to come to this world, then?" I asked, trying to sort myself out. If she was still unstable and powerful enough to destroy the whole prefecture then there wasn't a way in hell she managed to come here so easily.

"How? Well, even if she was born from those experiments, she still has full citizenship and her magic is nothing to scoff at, so she shouldn't have much problems with travelling. As for why… is better for us to ask her directly, isn't it?" The Maou then turned around towards the girl, "Primula?"

She looks at him as he calls her name, and starts speaking while she finishes her cake.

"...I came to see Hachiman," Her silent eyes gazed at me, and I could see myself reflected in her sad, purple eyes. "I wanted to see… how's he like… because I've heard so much about him…"

"Rimu-chan…" Nerine's arms wrap around Primula's small body, concern plain in her eyes.

The little girl just continues to stare at me, without any expression on her face.

"What shall we do about Rimu-chan, father?" Nerine asked her father, who just smiled softly.

"We can't force her back to our world, so I think we can let her stay here and see how it turns out. However she will need to go back to the facility eventually."

Primula, however, shakes her head in refusal.

"I want to stay with Hachiman." She grips my sleeve while talking in her expressionless voice.

The Maou crosses his arms after seeing her reaction. After a few seconds, his demeanor changes again.

"Well, that's how it is, Hachiman-chan. What do you think about getting a new little sister? She's compact and you can use her as a hugging pillow."

"Oi! I already have a little sister, thank you." Although another Komachi in my life couldn't be something that bad.

"Indeed." He nodded. "We can also accommodate her without problems, so you don't have to worry about it."

That made me pause. Even if the Maou seemed to be giving her some degree of autonomy and freedom, I couldn't disregard what I had heard about her origins. Or how she had asked to stay with me, someone she had known for about an hour, instead of staying with the Maou.

Above that… I couldn't help but think how similar that girl was with someone else I knew. Or how solitary she seemed to be. Still, it wasn't like I could just say 'Yeah, sure!' and had her moved to my house. It was my parents' house, after all.

I looked at Primula again.

Mmm, My mother had giving me orders to take care of the situation with the princesses of Gods and Devils, hadn't she? This should count, right? We had a couple of guest rooms for when my grandparents came to visit too…

"I need to make a call." I said, moving a little further from the Devils in the room and dialing one of the first -and less used, numbers in my phone.

Just a second later, the call connected.

"Yes?" A tired voice echoed at the other side of the call.

"Father." I greeted.

"Ugh, Hachiman, what do you want? It's almost 3 in the morning here."

"I… what would you think about getting a new daughter?"

"What? You didn't get anyone pregnant, did you? … No, that's impossible."

"Oi! I mean like, adopting one." _And why you think it's impossible? I mean, it probably is, but that's not something you should say!_

"What are you even talking about…"

I then tried to explain the situation in the best -and shortest- way I could.

Because he still seemed reluctant, I decided to play my most powerful card when dealing with my father.

"Mother said to take care of that… recent problem that came the other day. This is part of that."

"Well if your mother said so… wait, is she cute?"

After hearing my parent's almost criminal question, I turned to see Primula, took a photo with my phone and send it to him. The girl just blinked a couple of times while doing her best Rei Ayanami interpretation after I did that.

"You tell me."

"…You know what? Sure. Just send me the papers later, I'll sign them."

With that, the call ended and I turned around again, just to run into the faces of the Devils. Two of them smiling all too happily for my tastes. Especially the older man, who looked more proud than anything.

Seeing his happy face, I could help but wonder if the whole thing had been planned by that Devil from the start.

…After that, the King of Devils tried to make a party in celebration and whatever caution I had about the man died there.

* * *

 **A/N:** ...Huh. Sorry about the absence. This chapter came shorter and with way less content than I wanted, but at least it came out, right? No? Ok, then.

I promise getting back on track next chapter tho. Next chapter is chronologically set during the summer camp, but things are going to plat differently by having the Shuffle cast around. Also, I can't wait to actually introduce Itsuki to the fray, his interactions with the cast are bound to be funny or at least wacky.

Thank you all for your comments and follows, they made me feel like getting back on this. Anyway, next chapter will be one in a week or so, feel free to PM me and leave a comment (I like those). Also, I'm in dire need of a beta-reader, but I guess you already knew that...


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